To freelance or not to freelance? To hire an agency or go it alone? Those are the questions. Depending on who you speak to, you’ll probably bump into a wide variety of (sometimes polarized) opinions about the benefits of each option. The reality is that, whether you choose a content marketing agency or hire a freelancer, the “right” answer lies within your unique needs. Here are a few pros and cons of each.
Building your content marketing with a freelancer:
If your content marketing strategy is fairly straightforward and your team has the time and expertise to guide your freelancer’s work, hiring a writer can be a powerful tool when you need to ramp content up quickly (or down without cutting staff). Hiring a freelancer gives you flexibility, and usually provides a good bang for your buck because you can generate large quantities of high-quality content quickly and affordably.
PROS:
- Speed to market
- Scalable
- Use for seasonal needs
However, freelancers generally require a little extra “hand holding” because they may not be engrained in your company culture or have full access to your vision and strategy. Your team will need to field questions about tone, topics, keyword strategy, and content roadmap to ensure you get the best results.
Get the most out of your freelancer by treating them like an employee rather than a third party. Don’t skimp on sharing creative briefs, ideas, and feedback. If you’re worried about privacy or exposing sensitive and strategic information, you can always ask your writer to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Content marketing made easy with an agency:
Agencies really shine if your content marketing plan hasn’t been fully fleshed out or you have a smaller staff that may not have time to manage your freelancer’s writing process. If you aren’t sure what content you need, or how to maximize your reach and impact through content, an agency will provide critical insight to make sure the work you have planned will be beneficial and impactful.
Sometimes, agencies offer a la carte services (like freelance writing) so you can enjoy the scalability of a freelancer, with a little extra support from content marketing pros in the background. Talk to your agency about your unique needs to determine how they can best support you and work within your budget.
PROS:
- Strategic guidance
- Consistency and quality
- Holistic content marketing skills
You’ll get the best results from a content marketing agency if you plan to build a partnership with them. Think of your agency as a secret weapon, a hidden CMO, the wizard behind the curtain. The sky is the limit when you work with a good content marketing agency that understands your short and long-term goals, knows the market, and can make thoughtful recommendations about placement, supplementary advertising material, and unique ways to distribute your content.
With a content marketing agency, you get so much more than … well … content. You also get the manpower and expertise to really do something with it. The bottom line? Freelance writing offers a quick, straightforward solution to generate content … but an agency can start a marketing revolution.
The great news is that you don’t need to choose one or the other. Many of our clients start their content marketing with us and use freelance writers to maintain the work we do together when their team is stretched thin or they want to begin a new project and need an extra boost of manpower. Naturally, we are there every step of the way to support so there really is no wrong answer. Contact us to get started!
